Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha slammed Republican leadership after an intense election night loss to Democrats, who will take control of Congress in January.
“Not passing the SAVE America Act? That was a big, big promise,” Concha said on Fox Business’s The Evening Edit on Thursday.
Concha said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had it “all lined up” to pass the act, but he “still couldn’t pass something that 85% of Americans agree with.”
President Donald Trump has been pushing Thune to pass the SAVE America Act, which requires people registering to vote to provide stronger documentation proving they are United States citizens.
Thune, however, lacks the 60 votes needed to advance the bill, and has been urged by Trump and some Republican lawmakers to change Senate rules to bypass the filibuster.
Concha argued that many people “struggle to name anything” major that the Republican Party has accomplished over the last two years, outside of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The “big, beautiful bill” made several tax provisions permanent and added new ones. It cut down on spending for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, and fulfilled no taxes on tips or overtime.
While Concha recognized that Republicans held a small majority in the House and Senate, he said they lacked unity.
“Don’t you get the feeling that Democrats would have accomplished getting things passed that Republicans didn’t simply because they’re more unified, and there’s more strong-arming from leadership in the Democratic Party,” Concha said.
Concha said major Republican players, like Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), are also feeling the frustration.
“This guy is on fire at this point; he’s obviously not happy,” Concha said, while pointing out that DeSantis could be a 2028 presidential contender.
“In the end, we’re going to see some changes at the top based on what we just saw, which was really one of the worst, if not the worst, midterms the Republican Party has ever had, period,” Concha said.
“It’s all about wins and losses, so when a team gets blown out five touchdowns, like we just saw on Tuesday night, you better make some changes because you’re not going to get a different result until those changes come.”